304 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



worth of the University gives the following poison for ants in 

 gardens or houses : 



Strong for native ants Weak for Argentine ants 

 White arsenic 2 oz. 1 scruple 



Sal soda 4 oz. 1 teaspoonful 



Sugar 1 Ib. 1 Ib. 



Water 1 pt. 1 pt. 



For native ants, expose a small quantity of the strong poison. 

 For the Argentine ant, place a sponge in a fruit jar, saturate it with the 

 weak poison, make a few nailholes in the cover and keep jar in pantry and 

 several others in the yard about the house. Add more poison from time to 

 time. 



Destruction of Nests. In all the species where there are large 

 nests with a single opening pour down one ounce of carbon bisul- 

 phide, either in each of the natural openings or in holes made by 

 thrusting in a crowbar and covering everything with earth. The 

 gas destroys both young and old. This method can be applied to 

 any species where the nest can be discovered, but in the case of the 

 Argentine species it becomes the least valuable of any method, since 

 the nests are usually scattered almost everywhere over the whole 

 surface of the ground and the treatment to be effective would have 

 to include the entire ground space for acres. 



When the soil is very dry the carbon bisulphide dissipates too 

 rapidly to destroy the whole nest and better results have been se- 

 cured with a solution of cyanide of potassium. The method con- 

 sists in making a rather strong solution (say 8 oz. to one gallon of 

 water) of the cyanide and pouring it into the holes in the same way 

 that carbon bisulphide is used, only more of the material is applied, 

 the amount actually used, of course, depending on the size of the 

 colony. It must be remembered that carbon bisulphide is very ex- 

 plosive and must be kept away from open lights ; also that cyanide 

 and its vapor are virulently poisonous to man and beast and must 

 be carefully used. Hydrocyanic gas is liberated in the soil by this 

 means and kills all ground pests it reaches. 



Cut Worms. Young plants that are just pushing through the 

 ground are often found cut off near the surface of the ground, with 

 the wilted tops tilted over or lying near. If you rake in the loose 

 dirt below you will probably find sleek, well fed, greasy, sparsely 

 haired cutworm caterpillars, which are the larvae of clumsy mottled 

 grey and brown moths which are attracted to lights and many of 

 them can be caught by putting small lamps over pans of water on 

 which is a film of coal oil. 



Poisoned bait for cutworms has already been described. They 

 may also be reduced by raking them out of the dirt and crushing 

 them or you can let the fowls scratch them out if they are not 

 likely to injure the plants more than the worms do. Several kinds 

 of birds, induing the robin, catbird, blackbird, and quail, feed 

 on cutworms. Toads also like them and should be encouraged 



